ANSI INCITS 358-2002 pdf download Information Technology – The BioAPI Specification
The BioAPI is designed for use by both application developers and biometric technology developers. To make the integration of the technology as straightforward and simple as possible (thus enhancing its commercial viability), the approach taken is to hide or encapsulate to the extent possible the complexities of the biometric technology. This approach also serves to extend the generality of the interface to address a larger set of potential biometric technologies and applications. This specification is designed to support multiple authentication methods, both singularly and when used in a combined or “layered” manner.
1.4 Biometric Technology
The basic model is the same for all types of biometric technology. First, the initial registration “template” of the user has to be constructed. This is done by collecting a number of samples through whatever sensor device is being used. Salient features are extracted from the samples, and the results combined into the template. The construction of this initial template is called Enrollment.
The algorithms used to construct a template are usually proprietary. This initial template is then stored by the application, and essentially takes the place of a password. Thereafter, whenever the user needs to be authenticated, live samples are captured from the device, processed into a usable form, and matched against the template that was enrolled earlier. This form of biometric authentication is called Verification, since it verifies that a user is who he says he is (i.e., verifies a particular asserted identity). Biometric Technology, however, allows a new form of authentication called Identification. In this form, a user does not have to assert an identity; the biometric service provider compares the processed samples of the user against a specified population of templates, and decides which ones match most closely. Depending on the match probabilities, the user’s identity could be concluded to be that corresponding to the template with the closest match.